Emotional Intelligence and Its Relationship with Academic Performance in Students of the Technical University of Ambato

Introduction: Emotional intelligence involves the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s emotions and is linked to better academic outcomes and greater emotional well-being among students. Objective: To analyze the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance in university nursing students. Methodology: A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study focused on 68 seventh-semester students enrolled in the September 2024 - February 2025 academic cycle. The TMMS-24 Questionnaire (Emotional Metaknowledge) was applied, using Spearman's correlation to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance, based on Goleman's Theory of Emotional Competence. Results: A large percentage of students exhibited medium levels of emotional intelligence, followed by low levels, with only a minority achieving high levels. Regarding academic performance, most students showed good performance, with fewer cases of very good or average performance. When analyzing the relationship between the variables, Spearman's rating indicated no significant association between emotional intelligence and academic performance in this sample. Conclusion: While emotional competencies are important for the personal and professional development of nursing students, they do not demonstrate a direct impact on academic performance. This finding suggests that academic performance is influenced by additional factors such as learning strategies, institutional support, and socioeconomic conditions.